In the fall of 2011, the department joined a large group of universities in teaching a yearlong course that is sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The course is part of an HHMI, nationwide program called the Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES). The course has become extremely popular with our undergraduatesand as of fall 2015, we now offer two section of this laboratory course so that all of our first-year students are enrolled. The course is featured in the current issue of UMaine Today.